By John Harrington

Ballygunner’s Mikey Mahony doesn’t mind admitting that all the dinner-table talk these days in the Mahony household is “hurling, hurling, hurling”.

No surprise there. On Sunday he and his three brothers Philip, Pauric, and Kevin will be key men for the Waterford club in their AIB All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Slaughtneil.

Then, on January 29, his sister Emily will be in action with her camogie club Gailltír in the Munster Intermediate Club Final against Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams.

Hurling and camogie have long been the shared love of the Mahony siblings and from a young age they’ve all pushed one another to be better.

“They'd be the first people to tell me now if I wasn't pulling my weight or doing something right,” says Mahony of his older brothers Philip and Pauric.

“But I think more so just seeing what they're doing every day, eating the right foods, going to bed at the right time.

“The way they're talking to each other and talking to me, being able to read off them, how to perform at the highest level, is obviously a massive advantage for me and I'm sure for Kevin as well, to see that first hand in front of us. You're only going to follow them then if they're getting the right results.”

With Pauric and Philip injured for much of the 2021 club campaign with a ruptured cruciate and broken leg respectively, the two younger Mahony brothers really stepped up to the plate in their absence.

“Pauric wasn't back until quarter-finals of the county and Philip wasn't back til quarter-final of the Munster,” says Mahony.

“So I suppose even with Pauric gone all year, it gave me the opportunity to step up a bit more and take a bit more responsibility upon myself, perform to a higher standard. I think as a forward line in general, we all had to step up and I'm sure the backs were the same without Philip.”

What was notable about Ballygunner’s successful Waterford and Munster club campaigns was just how prominent the younger players in the team were.

Not only did Mikey and Kevin Mahony score consistently in attack, Tadhg Foley and Ronan Power brought great bite to their defence and Paddy Leavey and Conor Sheahan developed a really energetic and influential midfield partnership.

“Yeah maybe that's kind of the difference in getting us over the line, our youngers guys now are more experienced and the experienced guys have obviously been through a lot as well,” says Mahony.

“The Borris-Ileigh game (2019 Munster Final) would have been my first real test in Munster and I probably was able to use that this year as a gauge to the standards that we needed to get to in order to win the championship.

“So I suppose moreso our younger lads, they're after experiencing a lot more than we had back then. Maybe that's standing to us to some degree.”

It’s easy to make the argument that Ballygunner are better now than at any other time during the last eight years when they’ve won eight Waterford titles in a row.

Their convincing AIB Munster SHC Final win over Limerick champions Kilmallock two weeks ago was hugely impressive. How satisfying was it to produce a complete performance on such a big occasion?

“For us, it's just something we work so hard on,” says Mahony. “The way we play and getting that style right. It was obviously highly rewarding to see that come together on a big day.

“But I suppose we're probably doing it so often now that it nearly kind of comes second nature to us. I think going forward, it's probably sticking to our process, sticking to the same things that we've been doing and when you're internal, it probably seems quite simplistic.”

Mahony is extremely wary of the challenge that Ulster and Derry champions Slaughtneil will provide in the All-Ireland semi-final and is in no way looking beyond Sunday’s match.

Such was the quality of Ballygunner’s performance in the Munster Final, though, that many believe they’re good enough to become the first ever Waterford team to win an All-Ireland club championship.

The chance to create that sort of history isn’t where Mahony sources his motivation from. For him it’s all still very much about the journey rather than the destination.

“I think within our group it's an internal want to achieve rather than kind of bragging rights sort of thing,” he said.

“Of course that's nice if you're looking back on it and you're retired, but at the moment it's wanting to do well with my family and wanting to do well with my best friends is the main motivation.

“I'm not so sure that our time has come particularly. Whatever result is Sunday or whatever the result is for the rest of the season, I know we'll all be back again next year and fighting with the same hunger as we have been up to now.

“I know from a personal point of view, no matter what happens this year, I'll be back next year with the same hunger. I wouldn't say it's a now or never.”